Labour’s two Parliamentary candidates for Swindon, Heidi Alexander and Will Stone have organised a special delivery of donations to the Swindon Food Collective.
Following an appeal to local Labour Party members, Heidi and Will delivered 3 car loads of food to the warehouse of the Food Collective in West Swindon, totalling a quarter of a tonne in weight.
The donations came from local Labour Party members and Unite the Union.
Commenting, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate in South Swindon, Heidi Alexander said: “When we saw on Facebook that the Food Collective were running short of donations, Will and I put an appeal out to our local Labour Party members as we wanted to do our bit to help those struggling in the town. I volunteer each week at the Big Breakfast in the town centre, and so I know that the number of people living in food poverty in Swindon is on the rise. I really think we should aspire as a country to be free of food banks but as long as the need exists, I’d encourage anyone who can make a donation, to do so.
“The Swindon Food Collective do brilliant work but they depend upon the town’s generosity and good will.”
Items Needed by Swindon Food Collective
Will Stone (Labour’s Candidate in North Swindon) said: “Times are really tough for lots of people at the moment and so asking local Labour Party members to donate a tin of tomatoes or a pack of sugar seemed like the least we could do. We’d like to thank everyone who donated and would encourage everyone who can to make donation when they are next doing their shopping.”
Cher Smith, Swindon Food Collective Manager said: “We’re always very grateful for donations and this will make a real difference to people across Swindon. We have definitely seen demand for our services go up in the last few years and donations at supermarkets fall. One-off initiatives like this can help to plug the gap a little bit and so if there are any other businesses or organisations in Swindon that would like to help in this way, we’d love to hear from you.”
The Food Collective’s current list of shortage items can be found at: https://www.swindonfoodcollective.org/donate-food/
